"Ultimately we came in with a game plan and it got stifled," said Head Coach Matt Potter. "We had to change things around and made hard work of it. Credit Idaho for battling hard. They had a game plan and stuck to it. It was up to us to find a way to break it down and ultimately we did."

The Cougars clinched the win in the 99th minute as goalkeeper Katie Hultin booted a kick behind the Vandal defense. Hyte settled the ball and launched a far post shot over the head of the charging Idaho keeper, Lindsay Smith.

"We knew Katie was having success with the way she was punting the ball," Potter said. "We were having trouble getting behind them, so we decided to gamble with Katie's kick and she sent a quality ball that Megan was able to finish."

"I just tried to keep the shot high because their keeper had been blocking the low ones," Hyte said. "It feels great to score but, as a freshman, to come out and gain my teammates respect is more important to me than scoring the winning goal."

Hyte's goal marked the second tally of her collegiate career in two appearances as a Cougar. The Poulsbo, Wash., also scored the game winner in WSU's 2-1 win against Idaho State.

The Cougars out shot the Vandals 21-10 in 98:41 minutes of play. Hultin recorded six saves in the contest while Smith had nine.

"This time last year we found ourselves in the same situations and we didn't come through them with positive results," Potter said. "We've matured as a team and are able to handle different scenarios with success. We were under pressure this weekend, no question, and in situations that we are going to have to handle this year in terms of our overall schedule. Now our level of play has got to improve. We've come out the weekend 2-0 and that's a stepping stone for us."

The Cougars continue their 2005 season on the road, traveling to Tennessee where they face No. 11 Tennessee Friday, Sept. 2 at Knoxville and Vanderbilt Sunday, Sept. 4 at Nashville.